Does technology overwhelm you? Would you love to have more efficient systems in your studio or with clients, but the thought of learning a new system makes you cringe?

Thankfully, you don’t need a degree in computer science to find the right tools for your business. All you need is a little drive, a little patience, and a little bit of direction. 

Tools to help your health & wellness business thrive

Welcome to the virtual age! Here, the cookies are a little less delicious (but still super important). It’s important to note that tech and systems aren’t just for “big studios” or chain businesses. Small health and wellness business owners need them, too. What’s more important is that we really can’t afford to pass up tools that can help us become more efficient and less overwhelmed. 

Today, I am going to break down the tools that we use in my business (both at Pilates in the Grove and on the coaching side of things) that we cannot operate without. Even though I would never consider myself a tech-savvy person, I am so happy to have these tools and systems in our operations, because they’ve helped save my sanity and my business multiple times.

We have also created not one but TWO FREE resources for you. One is a checklist of our Essential Digital Business Tools AND a free pre-recorded masterclass that goes through each and every one of the tech tools I mention below and how to use them. 

Communication tools

Money talks, but you know what else talks? People. Unfortunately, they don’t always talk very well. We have tons of communication apps these days, but they need to be well-designed to really help you connect with people, whether that be clients or your own team. 

My favorite communication tools are Slack and Voxer. I use Slack with my studio teams to keep communications out of my inbox and text messages. Instead, all interactions are organized in the app in direct messages and “threads” where we can drop specific questions about specific topics.

I also use Voxer, which is kind of like a walkie talkie app for short quick conversations. Before Slack and Voxer, I would get hundreds of email notifications daily...way too much for any person to keep up with.

Project management

If your current task organization involves lots of sticky notes in “visible” places or random notes scribbled on old receipts, I totally get it. (I still do that last one, much to the frustration of my team.) However, may I gently offer an easier and much more effective suggestion?

I cannot live without Asana. This platform lets you assign tasks (to yourself AND to your team) and track their progress. Before we started using a project management system, I was overloaded with people asking me questions about tasks and assignments. No one knew what was due and when it was due. It was being uploaded into various other platforms and was causing a tremendous amount of stress and confusion.

Sometimes, the best answer is to simplify: get all those tasks on one platform, invite your team, and watch your productivity grow!

File storage and document sharing

You will likely need to share documents for review at some point in your business, whether it’s a new job description, a treatment plan for a client, or social media captions to schedule. You could email back and forth with a Word document, but that gets messy and hard to track after a while. It’s much better to have a single file hosting site that all of your team can access, saving your inbox (and your sanity).

There are lots of different options, but Dropbox and Google Drive in particular are big hits. We use Google Drive for everything on my teams, because it’s easy to learn, versatile to use, and allows for collaborative work. You can actually edit a document together in Google Docs! So cool. Plus, it’s attached to your Gmail account so you don’t have to worry about losing documents; it’s all right there in your account.

Automations

You. Need. Automations. These aren’t about taking out your “personal touch”; it’s about saving your energy, your time, and making sure your potential clients are serviced in real time. Zapier is a great resource!

Zapier is basically the best middle man in the business. It allows us to automate practically anything in our business, no matter what format. It is the connector from one piece of software to another. 

How can this help you? Well, for example, you may want to send auto emails to clients who have not returned for more visits. Instead of worrying about this task falling to the bottom of your to-do list or forgetting to set a calendar reminder for every client, you can create a zap that tells your email software to send that email to people who have not returned in 30 days. 

Automations stop things from falling through the cracks, without you needing to juggle everything all at once.

Teaching tools 

Do you need to train your front desk staff how to use your scheduling tool, but don’t have time to walk them through it in person? Use a video recording! Need to send a client their exercises for the week or want to walk them through their new treatment plan? Use a video recording!

Whether you are teaching team members, clients, or anything in between, Loom is a great resource to use. This video messaging app lets you quickly record and upload material, which you can then easily send to your team or clients. Quick and efficient, you can also create folders for clients or team members so you can easily find videos in the future, too.

Bringing it all together 

These are just a few beginner-friendly tools that your healthcare or wellness business can use to grow. The best part? Most of what I mentioned above is totally free — or they have a free version.

Want to learn more about these tools and how they can work for your business? Check out the pre-recorded Tech & Tools masterclass my team recently created — and you can also download two FREE resources that break down these platforms and even teach you how to use them in your own business. You can access our Tech & Tools training totally free by visiting https://www.christagurka.com/techtools